„We continue the change“ will ask the president to veto the adopted state budget due to unconstitutional texts in it. This was stated in the program „From the Day“ on BNT by PP MP Venko Sabrutev, who is a member of the parliamentary Committee on Budget and Finance.
„We are witnessing a vote substitution. Some election promises were made, but completely different policies are being implemented.“, he added.
According to him, “We Continue the Change“ have already prepared a motivated request for a presidential veto.
“We will submit a request for a veto. We have written over 15 pages of motivations and are collecting signatures that we will apply to them“, said the PP MP.
According to him, one of the unconstitutional texts is related to the rules for TELK.
“Imagine that someone reported that your TELK is irregular. According to the new provision, they will immediately stop your pension. For people with disabilities, this pension means survival. The Constitution clearly states that everyone is innocent until proven guilty, not guilty until proven innocent.“, added Sabrutev.
As a second example, he pointed to the linking of judges' salaries to MPs' salaries.
„In Bulgaria, there is a separation of powers. There is no way that the salaries of one power can be linked to those of the other“, said the MP.
Regarding the reasons for this change, he criticized the ruling majority. He argued his position with the possibility that the parliament could change the mechanism for determining MPs' salaries.
„The majority may decide to change the rules for MPs' salaries - to reduce them by half, by a third or even by one euro. If judges' salaries are tied to them, this would directly affect the judiciary.“
According to the MP from “We continue the change“ the adopted budget shifts the burden onto workers without offering real compensation.
“You see what is being proposed for workers - additional insurance, additional burden. Every Bulgarian citizen will pay more for insurance without receiving anything in return. The pension ceiling will not be increased, unemployment benefits will not be increased“, he said.
According to him, the minimum unemployment benefit remains extremely insufficient.
“The minimum benefit is 9 euros per day and this is written in the State Budget Act. If someone claims otherwise, this is not a refutation, but a lie“, said Sabrutev.
The MP also criticized the changes related to the paid annual leave of people working part-time.
„Until now, if you work on a four-hour employment contract, you are entitled to 20 days of leave, which are four hours each. Now, in reality, the leave is halved. If a person works on two four-hour employment contracts, he will have to use leave with both employers at the same time, which means that he will actually have only 10 working days of annual leave. Any other statement is a lie.“, he commented.
According to Sabrutev, the most affected will be students and people with disabilities.
„Mainly, students and people with disabilities work on a four-hour basis. A person with polyneuropathy does not work four hours because it is convenient for him, but because his physical condition does not allow him to do so anymore. Now this person will receive half as much leave and will not even have the opportunity to recover from his work“, said the MP.
He also criticized the elimination of the mechanism for determining the minimum wage. According to him, the current mechanism should remain in force until a new agreement is reached between employers and unions.
“Good or bad, this mechanism works. It guarantees that the minimum wage will increase. The right decision is to remain in force until employers and unions agree on a new model“, he pointed out.
Sabrutev also criticized the other policies set out in the budget.
“They will provide people with more without receiving anything in return. They will be taken more from their salaries, and in the end they will have half as much leave. This is a real disgrace“, he said.
According to the MP, the ruling party is not fulfilling its promises and instead of fighting the oligarchy, they are restricting social rights. He gave as an example the cancellation of the state's commitment to the construction of the National Children's Hospital.
“The three-year budget forecast so far included a text stating that when construction begins, the state undertakes to finance the children's hospital. The government has removed this commitment. This means that the children's hospital is no longer among the priorities of the 2026 budget.“
According to him, maternity leave and the tax credit for working parents have also been frozen, while the budget has allocated billions for infrastructure spending. At the end of the conversation, Sabrutev said that if the presidential institution does not veto it, “We continue the change“ will refer the matter to the Constitutional Court.